Reflecting on 2009 Conference

Jessica Guth (University of Bradford), a first timer at Learning in Law Annual Conference, reports on her experience. Jess was also a presenter at the conference – read her paper The art of the impossible: the practicalities of being a new law teacher.

This was my first Learning in Law Annual Conference but I am sure it will not be my last! I was not sure what to expect when I climbed out of my taxi and made my way to the registration desk. I have taken part in subject specific conferences, but do not necessarily consider myself to be a legal education scholar, although I do have an interest in the topic. I need not have worried – the participants came from varying backgrounds and levels of experience, and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, something that continued throughout the conference. It was a great forum for sharing ideas and having debates both within the sessions and during the breaks.

The programme was packed full, and details of the sessions and papers were made available on the conference wiki, a new feature this year. I don’t intend to reproduce the content here, but I could not possibly reflect on the conference without considering Ian Ward’s keynote in a little more detail.

Ian’s paper, Legal education and the democratic imagination, was the highlight of the conference for me. It made me sit up and listen, it made me think, and it made some of my random thoughts connect, bringing me closer to a sense of what I am trying to do as a teacher of law. I was excited to hear a paper which posed the question ‘what is legal education for’ without getting hung up about a vocational/academic divide or falling into the pessimism so often surrounding the subject of legal pedagogy. I welcomed the idea that teaching law without teaching values makes little sense, or more accurately, is impossible.

The keynote set the tone for the rest of the conference and it was a hard act to follow. However, all the sessions I attended were thought provoking and interesting. If there was a negative it was that I was not always sure how some of the ideas being discussed could be translated into practice in the kind of context I work in. There were some exciting ideas for innovative teaching techniques, but many of these were based on quite small class sizes and were not feasible with a cohort of 100 students. However, what is needed here is not criticism or pessimism but simply creativity. If something works for 12 students there must be a way of also making it work for 120 – with a few modifications perhaps.

The programme was intense but the coffee breaks and lunch provided good opportunities to network and the refreshments provided were great – although I have yet to master holding a plate, a glass, a conference pack and eating at the same time! The conference reception and dinner were enjoyable and I found myself meeting new people and refreshing old contacts.

I enjoyed Learning in Law Annual Conference very much. The papers were stimulating, discussion was thought provoking and all the academic elements were well supported through efficient administration and good catering. The fact that accommodation was so close to the conference venue also helped. The added bonus of the wiki provided an extra dimension which is more useful now than it was at the time of the conference, because it allows me to take a look back at the ideas and discussions and make sure that the enthusiasm created during the conference doesn’t get lost in the drudgery of the everyday.

Last Modified: 9 July 2010